Frequency in Word List

Based on the above table, it shows how frequent the words are used in the speech by Dr.Martin Luther King.

1. FREEDOM (noun)

the word ‘freedom’ has been used 20 times since freedom is one of the themes of the speech. This means that King is stressed about the freedom they should get. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘freedom’ :

1) I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.(paragraph 1)

2) Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.(paragraph 8)

3) And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.(paragraph 9)

2.NEGRO (noun)

the word ‘negro’ has been used 14 times in the speech. As the speech is about the freedom of the Negros, King repeats the word in order to remind the audience. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘Negro’ :

1) But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. (paragraph 3)

the word ‘dream’ has been used 11 times in the speech. It always be used like this; ‘I have a dream’. King uses the word of ‘dream’ to replace the hope to get the freedom and the hope for the future. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘dream’ :

1) I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up…(paragraph 17)

2) I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi,…(paragraph 19)

3) I have a dream today!(paragraph 21)

5.NATION (noun)

the word ‘nation’ has been used 11 times in the speech. The ‘nation’ refers to the place or land where King hopes for the justice to be given to all the ‘owners of the land’. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘nation’ :

1) In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check.(paragraph 4)

2) We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.(paragraph 5)

3) I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.(paragraph 20)

6. COME (verb)

the word ‘come’ has been used 10 times in the speech. It has the meanings of ‘move towards’ or ‘arrives or happens’ based on the structure of the sentences. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘come’ :

1) And so, we’ve come to cash this check…(paragraph 5)

2) We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. (paragraph 6)

3) And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.(paragraph 9)

7. JUSTICE (noun)

the word ‘justice’ has been used 8 times in the speech. It is used to show the hope and dream of the black people from being segregate. King wants the justice to be given to all blacks and they will not be judge by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘justice’ :

1) But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. (paragraph 5)

2) Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.(paragraph 6)

3) I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.(paragraph 19)

8. SATISFIED (adjective)

the word ‘satisfied’ has been used 8 times in the speech. King repeats the word to realize his people for what they should get. King wants the black people to think about their rights, not only satisfied for what they have at that time. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘satisfied’ :

1) We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.(paragraph 13)

2) We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.(paragraph 13)

3) No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied…(paragraph 13)

9. FAITH (noun)

the word ‘faith’ has been used 5 times in the speech. King uses ‘faith’ to show the strong feeling or confidence in getting the freedom for the blacks. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘faith’ :

1) This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.(paragraph 25)

2) With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope(paragraph 26)

3) With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.(paragraph 26)

10. GREAT (adjective)

the word ‘great’ has been used 5 times in the speech. It is used to emphasize someone or something based on the context of the sentences. These are the examples for the use of the word ‘great’ :

1) Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.(paragraph 2)

2) This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.(paragraph 2)

3) And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.(paragraph 31)

Overall, the speech is very much loaded with rhetorical techniques. King as an accomplished civil rights leader is a very accomplished writer. His words are very hopeful and deliberate. He is very conscious of his audience, and he is very commanding of his wording to avoid hurting his credibility with this audience. However, King takes the right kinds of chances rhetorically. I believe that this speech is one of the better written works that I have had the chance to read.(Wilkenfeld,2011)